Morning journal and courier., 1887-12-17
AMONG THE FARmERs.


 Hartford-Prof. HadIeY's Remarks
 on the Railroad and the Farmer
 NIT. HImman on the Farming Inter.
 ests Of Our state.
 J. B. Olcott's paper on fRoad Making'' was given at the session of the State board of agriculture at Hartford Thursday morn ing. The good and bad methods of road making were illustrated by six large charts, and the essay WAS generally discussed. A fine display of fruits and vegetables on the plat form attracted a great deal of attention, and good music varied the monotony of the nec- essarily abstruse subjects on the programme. The exercises of the afternoon were opened by a paper on the pollution of streams, which was prepared by special committee ap pointed some time ago for the purpose. The regular paper of the afternoon, however, was on the Railroad and the Farmer" by Prof. Arthur T. Hadley of Yale college and ex- commissioner of labor statistics. A synopsis of Prof. Hadleys remarks is as follows:
 The effect of railroad building and railroad inn provements on the farmers and on everyone else was to take away much of the advantages which were no longer produced near the point of con sumption, but wherever the natural advantages for
 ted the farmers of the West much more than those of the East and put the latter at relative disad- Ali the changes in railroad economy fora long time tended to intensity this effect. Consolidation made long distance traffic more economical The use of steel rails and heavy made it advan- tage to the railroad to secure large shipments py Charge less per mile which was right but under the pressure of competition they charged absolutely less for long distances than for short ones, which was generally altogether wrong hurting the legiti mate interests of the railroads as well as those or
 The first efforts to stop this state of things by leg islation only partly successful The laws pass ern States went so far that they defeated their ends and could not be enforced Such has also been tion But we are learning wisdom by failure and are gradually finding out what can and what can; what will be the final effect of the interstate com merce laW but at present it promises maeh good in
 Meantime series of events has come up which the local shippers than any legislative enactment, however stringent: The price of wheat in Europe port wheat trade at present prices So little advan- tage can be gained by developing this through more attention to other lines and whether they cannot develop the local trade to larger volume. They perhaps do this either by providing better local train service at low rates, so to persuade people to live in the country rather than crowd to- Tender it easier for the farms supply to the city markets those goods where very quick transit is an with some success in other countries. There is every reason to wish that the same thing may be done here.
 The evening exercises consisted of remarks by Prof. Brewer on ssThe carrying of farm products" and R. s. Hinman's paper on s'Farm life in Connecticut, past, present and future"
 MT. Hinman said that in 1918 when the present State constitution was adopted the population was 270, 900 and 50,O00 persons were engaged in agriculture, nearly three times as many as in all other ayocations. fboY1 now, and 6,000 more persons engaged in agriculture. There was plenty of economy but little accumulation of wealth. For the next twenty-seven years the land decreased in value about $4, ,OO0, 900, but the value of dwelling houses increased from about $19, 1000, ,000 to about $50, 900, 900. The West was being settled and products of new soil came in competition with those of Con- necticut. Whole families left farms here for the West. It was evident that whatever ad- vantages the farmer of the past had, politi- cally, socially or in any way that tended to make him prosperous and happy, due to the fact that agriculture was the chief industry of the State, they could not, as things were going, last. The change, came through the introduction and growth of manufactures. The value of farms increased and by 1860 had gained two and half times what they had lost in the former period, and the mills and stores were worth ten times what they were in 1918. By 1875 there was a further great change for the better. "Before give you the figures dem onstrating this change allow me a few words in explanation. Land, like bank stock, is valuable for what it produces. Stock in a bank may to-day be worth hundred dollars or more per share, but if tomorrow the pres ident or cashier should rob the bank of all it's available resources and skip to Canada the man owning stock would have the same pa r,fHh fba 11,,fk khau would be va1ueless. If the farmer robs his land of it's available resources and leaves it, the acres remain, the deeds of conveyance are the same, but the value is gone. Thousands of acres of land in Connecticut have been so robbed, and when we hear of the reduced value of farms, as we often do, little inves- tigation will show that this class of farms is made the standard"
 The following figures showed further in crease in value of farm lands of $10, 900, ,090; dwelling houses from $50, 100000 to $780, 900, GOO, and manufactures, mills and stores to $6A, 500, ,000. The number of persons en- gagged in farming had slightly decreased, partly owing to the introduction of labor saving machinery. There were three times as many persons engaged in other pursuits as in agriculture. The general outlook Mir. Hinman considered good. He closed as fol lows: 'If the farmer so situated is ambitious to leave the farm he tilis in such condition
 
 obtain as much sustenanee from it as he can, he will find scope for his ambition and pa- trietism at the same time, and unless man has some such ambition, some admiration for the beautiful hills and valleys among which, and some love for the soil upon which be was bred and reared, it is doubly mis- fortune, a misfortune to the commonwealth and to himself, if circumstances compel him ! to live and die Connecticut farmer" The regular programme for yesterday be- gan at 10 a. m. with reports of delegate visi | tors to Connecticut agricultural fairs. At p. m. MT. J. NJ. Hubbard lectured on the Possibilities of Connecticut Agriculture, | read paper on Thoughts, Agriculture | and Otherwise"
 Among those present at the convention | from out of the State are: J. G. Peckham o1 ! Kingston, Charles O. Flagg of Cumberland | and Charles W. Smith of Providence, R. I. W. w. Meech of Vineland, N. J.; George H Randall of Brooklyn, N. Y.; Norman Noble | of Pittsfeld, s. H. Ellis of Longmeadow and Mr.. Cheever of the New England Farmer | Massachusetts. Among the many Connecti ! cut attendants have been J. M. Hubbard ! Middlefeld; P. M. Augur, Middlefeld J. B. Tatem, Putnam; Abijah Catlin HaIwinton; s. J. Logan, Washington; W. G | Manchester, West Winsted; E. E. Gaylord Woodstock; W. H. Lee, Guilford; Saxton B | Little and J. H. Yale, Meriden; George T Goodwin. Elmwood; Samuel A. Eddy, Ca naan; H. A. Bissell, Hebron; James Hoyt I New Canaan; J. P. Barstow, Norwich; A. S | Cowles, New York; O. P. Cowdrey, Wes l Hartland; Dr. G. A. Bowen, Woodstock, anc | a large number of other representative farm l CTS from all over the State, who, while not 1 taking active part in the various discus sions, have been attentive and interested listeners.
 A FRUETLEss WATT.